Stuck In Customs » Borobudur

The caged Buddhas look outward towards the sunrise

tratcliff — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:54:17 +0000

Each of these “bells” is really a stone cage that houses a seated Buddha statue, facing outwards. At this time in the morning, you can take little flashlights and peer inside the cages. It’s all very eerie and fun…

In the distance, you can see a few volcanoes poking through the mist.

As the light changes in Indonesia

tratcliff — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 04:48:13 +0000

I have been working on a new batch of shots from Indonesia which will be coming up soon, but in the meantime I was looking at how dramatically the light changed on one day I was there in particular. These two shots below are from different parts of the country… One was taken around 3 PM and the second was taken around 7 PM.

A Delicate Morning

tratcliff — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:34:55 +0000

The morning in Indonesia seemed to change every 5 minutes from blue to pink to purple then back to blue again. I could hardly figure out where to point… Framing these Buddhas in the bells at Borobudur was a fun exercise in composition and patterns.

Indonesian Girl with Hat

tratcliff — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 04:16:31 +0000

This girl had traveled from a remote part of Indonesia to visit Borobudur. She had never seen a white guy in person before… I told her that I might be kind of a disappointment since I am a fairly average white guy. She saw the freckles on my arm and asked if I had a disease…

The Rolling Buddhist Morning Mist

tratcliff — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 05:02:57 +0000

Usually a fine layer of mist indicates as that one area is cooler than another area. In this case, even in the early morning light, that could not have been the cause of the mist since it was burning hot with every single step. There was some sort of steamy condensation, but most of it was wrapping itself around my sweaty body. A tiny bit of breeze might have been nice, but maybe that would have blown away the mist!

Volcanoes Poking Through

tratcliff — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:20:13 +0000

The light changed every few minutes through the morning. As the low clouds rolled across the jungle below Borobudur, you could see the nearby volcanoes poking through into the sunrise.

The Underwater Mosaic Near the Jungle Gates

tratcliff — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 09:09:40 +0000

Found in a placid pool in Indonesia… And believe it or not, I never got in! Looking at it now… I kind of regret it… I couldn’t have been THAT busy could I?

Borobudur at High Noon

tratcliff — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:59:05 +0000

All of these SE Asian temples are oriented against the poles of the earth and the solar system so you can often get these symmetric shots, although I normally don’t do that sort of thing. This was shot from the top of Borobudur when the sun was burning down at about 100 degrees of hot waves of humid heat. Scaling my way up there through the jungle gloom was tough enough without the added burning factor!

A Dip in the Glassy Pool

tratcliff — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 23:10:32 +0000

This is the hotel where I stayed (The Grand Mercure) in Indonesia when I went to visit Borobudur for the weekend. I never took a chance to sample the pool, except for my camera, which could not resist!

Buddha in the Jungle Highlands

tratcliff — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:26:09 +0000

This peaceful buddha looks out across the mist and fog on a relaxing morning…

Archway overlooking the foggy jungles of Indonesia

tratcliff — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 22:34:30 +0000

It was foggy… and it was jungly….

The Exposed Temple Hall and the Third Stage of Enlightenment

tratcliff — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 18:20:51 +0000

The Buddhist Temple of Borobudur has several concentric levels, each going higher and higher, each level a more significant plane of enlightenment. Monks are supposed to start at the bottom and spiral their way to the top, contemplating the countless reliefs and 500+ Buddha statues. I spent almost the entire weekend there and made the walk more times than most of the monks. Plus I was carrying a tripod and not wearing sweat-wisking robes… I don’t know if this means I am more enlightened or just more tired.

Caged Buddhas High in the Temple in Borobudur

tratcliff — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 13:10:01 +0000

The stupa is covered with Buddhas, most of which are encased in these bell-shaped cages. Early during the sunrise, I went around from cage to cage to peer inside with a flashlight. Every buddha is holding his hands in a slightly different arrangement. It was super dark and moody while I was there, and I was going to freak out if I peered in on one of them, and his pose was to block the flashlight from his eyes.

The Explosion of Kids in Indonesia

tratcliff — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:03:40 +0000

I was absolutely deluged by kids that had never seen a white person in person before.Â After the sunrise, when I was pretty much alone, a bus pulled up from a remote part of Java and tons of kinds poured out and started running all over the temple.Â All of them wanted their picture taken with me, as if I was some sort of goofy Baluga that had washed up on the temple steps.Â They were all very happy and fun, so I asked them to sit on the corner of Borobudur for a group shot.

The Hidden Buddhist Temple of Borobudur at Sunrise

tratcliff — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 06:44:50 +0000

This morning I got a wakeup call at 3:30 AM to head out on a distant trek to Borobudur to climb the temple before sunrise. I had a flashlight and a fully loaded iPod for the ascent. I stayed at the top and all around the temple for most of the morning, collecting shots here and there as misty clouds rolled in, through, around, and over the temple.

This temple laid abandoned and overgrown for about 800 years until it was rediscovered by the British.

You can see the distant volcano rumbing in the morning sunrise…